SBA Announces New Hours for Disaster Loan Outreach Center in Buffalo

ATLANTA –The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) today announced new hours for its Disaster Loan Outreach Center (DLOC) in Buffalo. The DLOC, located at the Delavan Grider Community Center, 877 East Delavan Ave., will open at 9:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, beginning Tuesday, March 7, instead of at 9 a.m. Its new hours are 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays (closed Sundays). The SBA is operating a second center in Cheektowaga. That center’s hours remain the same.

Customer Service Representatives are available at the DLOCs to answer questions about the disaster loan program and help individuals complete their applications. Businesses of all sizes, non-profit organizations, homeowners and renters in any of the declared counties with uninsured or under-insured losses from Winter Storm Elliott, Dec. 23-28, 2022, can get help with their application at either Disaster Loan Outreach Center.

The declaration covers Erie County and the adjacent counties of Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Genesee, Niagara and Wyoming in New York.  

Disaster survivors with insurance should not wait for their settlement before applying to the SBA. The SBA can make a loan for the total loss and use insurance proceeds to reduce or repay the loan.

The DLOCs are operating as indicated below through March 16:

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the SBA has established protocols to help protect the health and safety of the public. All visitors to the DLOC are encouraged to wear a face mask. 

“Businesses and private nonprofit organizations may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace disaster-damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets,” said SBA’s Buffalo District Director Franklin J. Sciortino.

For small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations, the SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance is available regardless of whether the business suffered any physical property damage.

“Loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for loans up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property,” said Kem Fleming, director of SBA’s Field Operations Center East in Atlanta.  

Applicants may be eligible for a loan amount increase of up to 20 percent of their physical damages, as verified by the SBA, for mitigation purposes. Eligible mitigation improvements might include insulating pipes, insulating walls and attics, weather stripping doors and windows, and installing storm windows to help protect property and occupants from future damage caused by a similar disaster.

Interest rates are as low as 3.305 percent for businesses, 2.375 percent for nonprofit organizations, and 2.313 percent for homeowners and renters, with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.

Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at DisasterLoanAssistance.sba.gov/ela/s and should apply under SBA declaration #17794.

Disaster loan information and application forms can also be obtained by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (if you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services) or sending an email to DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov. Loan applications can also be downloaded from sba.gov/disaster. Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is April 28, 2023. The deadline to return economic injury applications is Nov. 27, 2023.

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About the U.S. Small Business Administration

Recently, U.S. SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman announced a policy change granting 12 months of no payments and 0 percent interest. This policy change will benefit disaster survivors and help them to decrease the overall cost of recovery by reducing the amount of accrued interest they must repay. Details are available through the SBA Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955. Individuals with verbal or hearing impairments may dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, Monday to Friday, or email: DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov.

The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership.  As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.